Situation in Ukraine The impact of Trump's new course on the battlefield

Donald Trump is causing problems for the Ukrainian armed forces: Kiev is now at a disadvantage, especially in the air. But there are also counter-offensives that are causing heavy losses for the Russians - even in a pipeline.

How is Donald Trump's tough stance on Ukraine affecting the front line? The withdrawal of American love has consequences that have a direct impact on the front: Vladimir Putin's air force in particular is rubbing its hands in glee.

The reason: due to the lack of US support, Kiev now has to make do with its Patriot missiles. The air defense system is the only one that can stop Russia's Kinschal hypersonic missiles. The batteries are therefore being moved back from the front line to protect critical infrastructure near the major Ukrainian cities.

In other words, Moscow can now let off steam again with its jets at the front. The A-50 early warning aircraft is flying again for the first time after the irreplaceable reconnaissance aircraft were grounded after a Patriot was shot down a year ago. They are also used to conduct increased attacks on Kursk, where the air force is bombing the supply routes of Ukrainian troops.

Russia has the upper hand in airspace

The American F-16 jets are also barely operational: A lack of updates for electronic countermeasures from the USA makes the fighter jets vulnerable to being shot down. In addition, no spare parts or additional air-to-air missiles are being delivered. Yet the F-16 had only just expanded its mission portfolio and increasingly attacked Russian targets on the ground and in the air, wrote "Forbes" at the end of February.

Now the Mirage 2000-5F is to do the job: Images of a combat mission by the French aircraft have been published for the first time - see above. They are now to be retrofitted with new technology for electronic warfare.

The loss of intelligence support from the USA, which further reduces the warning time for Russian missile attacks, is also painful for Kiev. Paris is also promising help here: France launched a new spy satellite, the CSO-3, into space on 6 March, which can allegedly take photos at an altitude of 800 kilometers and identify objects that are 35 centimeters tall.

How Kiev is taking countermeasures

Trump's cozy course with Russia is of course also having an impact on Kiev's ground forces: "The result of this pause is hundreds of dead Ukrainians," says an officer to the US magazine "Time"."The biggest problem is morale. It really gives the enemy an advantage at the front." Who will volunteer if Washington no longer supplies the army with weapons and ammunition?

Volodymyr Selensky is trying to counteract this. For example in air defense: while there are allegedly technical problems with the Italian-French SAMP/T system and a shortage of Aster missiles, Kiev is expanding its cooperation with the German company Diehl Defence, which is to accelerate the delivery of the IRIS-T SLM and SLS systems. Rheinmetall is to export additional Skyranger 30s.

In addition, 18 to 24-year-olds are now serving in the army for the first time: Kiev has devised the concept of one-year contracts for them, which offers them a financial bonus. After their term of service, these men are also allowed to travel abroad - and not be called up again for a year.

Pipeline push in Kursk fails

On the ground, the new US policy is having an impact in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops are coming under increasing pressure: Because Putin's air force is bombing the road through which supplies enter the Russian oblast, their situation there is visibly deteriorating.

However, an attempt by Russian and North Korean soldiers to get behind enemy lines via a gas pipeline with a cross-section of 1.4 meters failed spectacularly. Moscow took a similar approach in Avdiivka: There, units had successfully advanced through the sewers into the Ukrainian rear.

In Kursk, however, the action was discovered by the enemy's military intelligence service: first their way back was blocked, then the troops were wiped out in the pipeline. Of the 100 or so Russian soldiers, 80 are said to have been captured or killed.

Fewer Russian attacks - because of the high losses?

It is questionable how much longer Kiev can hold on to the Russian side of the border: "The situation in the Kursk region is very difficult and could turn into a catastrophe if we do not act urgently to clear the logistical routes," the Financial Times quotes military blogger Bohdan Myroshnykov as saying.

Overall, however, things look worse for Russia on the battlefield than they did at the beginning of the year. In February, Russian attacks reportedly decreased by a good third. At the same time, the Kremlin continues to suffer heavy losses: Yesterday, March 9 alone, Kiev claims to have incapacitated 1190 opponents.

How did these high losses come about? A good example is Toretsk: the city in the Donetsk Oblast was actually already considered to have fallen, but because the Russian side has hardly any supplies of soldiers, the Ukrainians were able to fight their way back into the city by fighting through houses. Pioneers blew up entire houses in whose basements the enemy was entrenched.

Successes also in Chassiv Yar, Kupjansk and Pokrovsk

The situation was similar on other sections of the front. For example, Russian soldiers from the 144th Brigade complain in a video that they are being sent to their deaths in Kherson Oblast: The leadership wants them to establish a bridgehead on the other side of the Dnipro. They cross the river by boat, but only get as far as the river islands, where they are roughed up by artillery and drones. Nothing has been heard of them since.

The Russian army is obviously also short of equipment, as a recent unsuccessful attack in Chassiv Yar has shown. During an attack there, 16 vehicles were destroyed - see above: The infantrymen advanced in BMD-2 infantry fighting vehicles, whose thin armor is no match for artillery and drones.

Successful Ukrainian counterattacks are also being reported from Kupyansk and Pokrovsk, where Kiev's forces have apparently made up lost ground. At the same time, Russia is using the lack of US intelligence information to increase the number of air strikes against Ukraine.